Rig Veda 1.7.4: Mandala 1, Sukta 7, Mantra 4
Sukta 1.7
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Devata
- Indra
- Chandas
- Gāyatrī
- Rasa
- Vira (heroism)
इन्द्र वाजेषु नोऽव सहस्रप्रधनेषु च । उग्र उग्राभिरूतिभिः ॥
índra vā́jeṣu no ’va sahásrapradhaneṣu ca | ugrá ugrā́bhir ūtíbhiḥ ||
يا إندرا، في مساعي الظَّفَر (vāja) وأيضًا في المعارك ذات الرهانات الألف، احمِنا—يا شديدَ البأس—بمَعُونَاتِكَ الشديدة.
Word by Word
- इन्द्र
- O IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वाजेषु
- in the contests/prizes (vājás)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot वाज (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us / ourPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अव
- down; in aid (as preverb)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (पृथक्), ‘down/away; in aid’Role क्रियाविशेषण (verb-modifier)Root अव (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- सहस्रप्रधनेषु
- in thousand-staked contestsNoun (compound)नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रधन-आधार), सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सहस्र-प्रधन (समास-प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र ‘thousand’ + प्रधन ‘prize/contest, stake’)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थकRole समुच्चय (connector)Root च (निपात)
- उग्रः
- the mighty/terrible oneAdjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (implied: Indra as agent)Root उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- उग्राभिः
- with mightyAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (agreeing with ऊतिभिः)Role करणRoot उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऊतिभिः
- helps/aidsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot ऊति (प्रातिपदिक; from √अव/√उ ‘to help, protect’ > ‘aid’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: इन्द्र | वाजेषु | नः | अव | सहस्रप्रधनेषु | च | उग्रः | उग्राभिः | ऊतिभिः । 1) नोऽव = नः + अव (विसर्गस्य ‘ओ’ आदेशः, अवग्रहः)
- 2) उग्र उग्राभिः: पदान्त-अकारः + पदादि-उकारः (सन्धिः न कृतः/पदपाठ-प्रकारेण पृथक्)
- 3) Accent (as given): इन्द्र॒ (अनुदात्त/स्वरित-चिह्नित), वाजे॑षु (उदात्त), स॒हस्र॑प्रधनेषु (उदात्त on प्रधन-पूर्वभाग), उ॒ग्रः उ॒ग्राभि॑रू॒तिभि॑ः (udātta placements as marked)
The meaning
Outer meaning
O Indra, protect us in contests for prizes and in great battles with a thousand stakes, by your strong helps.
Inner meaning
In all inner efforts for increase (vājeṣu: gains of force, capacity, delight) and in intense crises where much is at stake (sahasra-pradhaneṣu), call the formidable power of illumined mind (ugra Indra) to guard and aid. The ‘battles’ are psychological confrontations with inertia, desire, fear, and obscurity; Indra’s strong helps are decisive interventions of clarity, courage, and right force.
Universal truth
Spiritual progress requires protection and strength not only in major crises but in everyday striving. The higher intelligence must be invoked as an active ally in all contests of growth.
Themes
inner battle, invictory, divine protection, power-for-attainment
The seer
- Rishi
- Madhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra
- Lineage
- Vaiśvāmitra
- Other hymns
- RV 1.7.1, RV 1.7.2, RV 1.7.3, RV 1.7.5
Family tradition
Indra-centered hymns that frame life as a field of conquest for light and plenitude.
Significance
The seer translates cosmic battle into practical prayer: bring Indra’s protection into both ordinary striving and decisive turning-points.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Ugra (formidable), Vajrin (thunderbolt-bearer), Maghavan (bounteous)
- Related deities
- Maruts (battle companions), Agni (leader of sacrifice), Soma (bliss-force)
Cosmic role
Protector and victorious leader who ensures the gods’ triumph and the distribution of plenitudes.
Inner power
Guardian-force of illumination: prevents relapse into confusion, strengthens resolve, and cuts through resistance.
In ritual
Where it is used
Protective Indra-invocation in competitive/agonistic ritual settings; part of Indra praise sequences.
इन्द्र॒ वाजे॑षु नोऽव स॒हस्र॑प्रधनेषु च । उ॒ग्र उ॒ग्राभि॑रू॒तिभि॑: ॥
इन्द्रः॑ । वाजे॑षु । नः॒ । अ॒व॒ । स॒हस्र॑ऽप्रधनेषु । च॒ । उ॒ग्रः । उ॒ग्राभिः॑ । ऊ॒तिऽभिः॑ ॥
indraḥ | vājeṣu | naḥ | ava | sahasra-pradhaneṣu | ca | ugraḥ | ugrābhiḥ | ūti-bhiḥ
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3 × 8
Martial, petitionary; repetition of ugra intensifies the call.
Elicits courage and steadiness; suitable as a protective mantra before challenging action.
- वाजेषु (vājeṣu)
- Literal: in prize-contests, in gains. Symbolic: Strivings for plenitude—growth in strength, skill, joy, and effective power
- अव (ava)
- Literal: protect, help down. Symbolic: Descent of protective force; guarding the aspiration from fall or diversion
- सहस्रप्रधनेषु (sahasra-pradhaneṣu)
- Literal: in battles with a thousand stakes. Symbolic: High-intensity inner crises where many energies/futures depend on the outcome
- उग्रः (ugraḥ)
- Literal: fierce, strong. Symbolic: Formidable divine force needed to overcome entrenched resistance
- ऊतिभिः (ūtibhiḥ)
- Literal: with helps, succors. Symbolic: Multiple modes of divine assistance—insight, will, courage, right impulse
Indra-invocations in Soma-yajña settings (esp. Agniṣṭoma-type Soma rites) for winning strength and protection; also adaptable as a general protective/abhaya-prayer within śrauta recitation cycles
Before or during strenuous ritual sequences, contests, or when seeking victory and protection.
Prayer for av (protection) and ūti (aid) amid ‘battles’ and ‘prize-strivings’.
Use before exams, negotiations, or inner discipline sessions; frame ‘battle’ as overcoming distraction and fear.
Key terms: (1) indraḥ: traditionally connected with strength/power; as a Vedic psychological symbol, Indra is the lord of illumined mentality that conquers obstruction. (2) vāja- (vājeṣu, loc. pl.): from the semantic field of 'strength, vigor, prize, nourishment'; in RV often the 'winning force' and its plenitude—hence interpreted as fullness of effective energy in sādhanā. (3) ava: verbal preverb used with √av 'to protect, favor, help'; also suggests 'downward' bestowal of force. (4) sahasra-pradhana- (loc. pl. -eṣu): sahasra 'thousand' + pradhana 'stake/foremost contest' (pra-√dhā 'to place forth'); conveys high-stakes conflict. (5) ugra-: 'mighty, fierce, pressing' (intensifier of force). (6) ūti- (instr. pl. ūtibhiḥ): from √av/√ū? (Vedic noun meaning 'help, aid, protection'); denotes active saving power rather than passive shelter.
Ṛta (right order upheld through victorious force against obstruction), Satyam/illumination versus tamas/obscurity (implicit in Indra’s function), Divine help (ūti) as descent of higher power into the human field
Indra’s protection supports right movement (ṛta) through conflict and choice.
Strength is to serve truth, not egoic conquest—ugra power aligned to satya.
Progress through conflict: forces of light secure plenitude by overcoming resistance.
Karmayoga/Integral Yoga resonance: invoke higher force in action and struggle.
Outer battle symbolizes inner struggle; prizes symbolize attained capacities and widenings; Indra’s storm-force symbolizes dynamic intervention of clarity.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The mythologem is the appeal to Indra as the victorious force in the decisive contest: not a narrated Vṛtra-slaying, but the standing paradigm of Indra’s role—protector and overcomer in 'battles' (pradhana) and in 'vāja-contests' (vāja). Psychologically, it is the invocation of the illumined power to safeguard the seeker during high-stakes confrontations with inner obstruction and dispersion.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- Several items align with inherited Indo-European poetic diction: (1) Indra’s profile overlaps with the PIE storm-god complex (cognate functional parallels with *Perkwunos/*H₂ner- type warrior figures, though 'Indra' as a name lacks a secure single PIE etymon). (2) ugra- 'mighty/fierce' reflects an inherited adjective pattern for intensifying divine force (cf. Indo-European poetics of 'terrible/strong' epithets for warrior gods). (3) The prayer formula using a 2nd-person vocative + imperative ('ava') is a common IE hymn structure: direct address and request for protection in contest.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- It is reciprocal and functional: the seer places the human struggle (vāja and sahasra-pradhana) before Indra and asks for 'ūti'—active divine intervention. The rishi offers recognition and invocation (mantra as a channel), while Indra is asked to 'bring down' protection and force into the embodied arena. The emphasis is not on barter but on alignment: the human will seeks to synchronize with Indra’s victorious power so Ṛta can prevail in the inner life.
Invoke protective clarity in moments of pressure; feel Indra as a firm presence behind the forehead and heart-will.
maṇipūra
short series of energizing exhales (kapālabhāti-light) followed by steady breathing while chanting
Courageous steadiness; readiness for decisive action.
Name your ‘vāja’ (the growth you seek) and your ‘sahasra-pradhana’ (the high-stakes knot). Chant asking for strong helps: insight first, then force, then endurance.
Respect marked accents (इन्द्र॒, वाजे॑षु, नोऽव, स॒हस्र॑..., उ॒ग्र उ॒ग्राभि॑रू॒तिभि॑:).
Strike ‘ugra’ firmly but not harshly; keep the final ūti-bhiḥ flowing to convey ‘helps’ arriving.
vājeṣu: pronounce vā- (long ā) clearly., sahasra-pradhaneṣu: keep compound smooth; avoid inserting extra vowels., ūtibhiḥ: long ū, dental t.
Firm, protective, martial clarity; steady pitch control on repeated ugra.
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